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“Mom’s Gone” – Dale Jr Painfully Unravels Life’s Constant Loops
“Mom’s Gone” – Dale Jr Painfully Unravels Life’s Constant Loops
The world knows Dale Earnhardt Jr as one of the most loved NASCAR drivers and a Hall of Famer. However, once upon a time, the two-time Daytona 500 champion was a budding skater in the making. Taking a trip down memory lane, Dale Jr was reminded of his childhood when he used to visit the skating ring with his late mother. Reminiscing about it on the newest episode of the Dale Jr Download, Junior revealed how his life has changed since the good old days.
Dale Earnhardt Jr has come a long way in life. Following a glittering NASCAR career that saw him become a household name in the country, the 49-year-old has turned into a successful entrepreneur. The instance that brought back old memories was a visit with his daughters to the Skateland premises in North Carolina. Having been an enthusiastic kid like his daughters once upon a time, nostalgia hit him hard.
Dale Earnhardt Jr is surprised by how fast time flies by
Owing to a visit to his former town, Dale Jr learned that Skateland still exists after so many years. So naturally, a visit was due. But this time, he had a different companion. Visiting the skating ring with his daughters, the venue brought back some sentiments in him that had been long lost. Revealing more about it, Junior said, “Both of my girls had so much fun. They skated, and they had these little walker-type things to go skate with. I’m out there with both of them. I took them around too many laps, and it was so much fun.”
Speaking about his emotions on realizing the circle of life, Dale Earnhardt Jr stated, “It just blew my mind that the last time I was there, I was five or six. I’m there 44 years later with my five-year-old girl skating on that ring, and the place is just identical.”
“I’m super nostalgic. That was triggering me, and a great eighty percent were happy thoughts, but there was also some sadness. Mom is gone, and the times are different. I felt like I had poured it back to 1979.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr lost his mother, Brenda Lorraine Gee, to cancer in 2019. Despite having a struggle-filled childhood, Brenda had been an instrumental figure in the Earnhardt family and paved the way for Junior’s success as a driver and his evolution as a person. Thanks to her efforts, the NASCAR community witnessed a NASCAR legend’s rise to fame.
As the podcast continued, Dale Earnhardt Jr disclosed that the Skateland building had stayed the same for 44 years, except for moving a few blocks from its original location.
Dale Jr reminisces his days at Skateland USA
Speaking about how long he has stayed away from the skating ring, Junior said, “I’ve never been back to the skating ring since; any skating ring.” However, that changed when his luck took him to one of his daughter’s friend’s birthday parties near his hometown. Revealing his surprise upon getting to see one of his favorite childhood spots, Dale Earnhardt Jr continued,
“44 years later, somebody we know, their child is having a birthday party, and our kids were invited, so we were going to take them. I didn’t know Skateland still existed. I didn’t know the building and business were still there operating. We drive into the parking lot and I’m like, I’ve got an idea and imagination of what it looked like or where it might’ve been and I was a little bit off.”
“It’s a couple of blocks away from what it was. This building had changed. I took some photos and put it on my social media story. The size is the same, building’s the same, it is 50 years old. There’s a line outside to get in. You go up there, and you walk in, and it’s the same place that I hadn’t seen in 44 years,” added the former Hendrick Motorsports driver.
Dale Earnhardt Jr’s anecdotes often have an ulterior theme in them. As he looked back upon his skating days, he showed that people should learn to value the time they have with their loved ones.
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Mick Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel are teaming up to represent Germany at the 2025 Race of Champions (ROC), taking place at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on March 7-8, 2025. First held in 1988, the event will see Schumacher and Vettel team up for the fourth time in their Race of Champions partnership.
They will face off against top competitors from across the motorsport spectrum, spanning single-seaters, rally, and endurance racing.
Vettel, who hasn’t ruled out an F1 return in the future, secured an outright victory at the Race of Champions in London back in 2015. He said in a statement:
“I’m delighted to be coming back to the Race Of Champions and teaming up with Mick again.
“It will be exciting to race in the former Olympic Stadium in Sydney that looks like it will be a great venue for the Race Of Champions. Sydney is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and I think Fredrik (Johnsson) and his team have selected an incredible venue for the next chapter of ROC.
“I am also supportive of ROC’s efforts taking steps towards becoming a sustainable motorsport event, which started at ROC Sweden.
“All the drivers who have the honour to participate in ROC fall in love with the event, because it reminds us about why we first started racing; pure competition and of course with the identical cars there are no excuses.
“I will do everything I can to help Germany win another ROC Nations Cup Title with Mick on the Friday evening, but I will not be doing him any favours when we are going for the outright win on the Saturday night, especially as he beat me in the Semifinals of the Individual ROC in Sweden in 2023!
“At ROC the racing is always intense on the track and everyone wants to win, but it’s also about putting on a great show for the fans.”
Schumacher, who recently revealed that securing a full-time seat with an F1 team was his ultimate goal, looks forward to the ROC at one of his favorite locations. He added:
“After finishing 2nd in the individual ROC in Sweden in 2023 and in the ROC Nations Cup in ROC Mexico with Seb, the goal this time has to be the overall winners trophy both in the ROC Nations Cup on Friday night and in the individual Race Of Champions on Saturday.
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Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has issued a warning to Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton prepares to join Charles Leclerc as a teammate next season. Hamilton will leave Mercedes after this season to team up with Leclerc, creating significant intrigue in the sport.
The deal between Hamilton and Ferrari marks a historic move in Formula 1. Hamilton, a seven-time world champion, is set to bring his wealth of experience and competitive spirit to the Maranello-based team. This partnership aims to revitalize Ferrari’s performance, which has seen mixed results in recent years. Hamilton’s unmatched drive and Leclerc’s emerging talent promise a powerful dynamic. Both drivers are motivated by the same goal: to secure championships for Ferrari, a team rich in history but seeking to return to its former glory. Their collaboration is anticipated to be a challenge for the competition and an opportunity to push each other to new heights.
Domenicali emphasized the challenge Hamilton will pose for Leclerc, given Hamilton’s talent, experience, and popularity. The seven-time world champion aims to secure an eighth title with Ferrari, and Domenicali noted the importance of clear team rules to prevent any potential conflicts.
“As a Ferrari enthusiast, it’s an extraordinary opportunity because Lewis is a centraliser. He wants to bring home the eighth title and become the best ever. There will have to be respect with Charles, but it’s clear that when you lower your visor… in any case, the team rules and management must be clear,” Domenicali told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Replacing Hamilton at Mercedes will be 18-year-old Italian prodigy Kimi Antonelli. There’s considerable buzz around Antonelli, alongside other rookies like Oliver Bearman and Jack Doohan who will also debut in F1 next season.
Domenicali expressed his excitement about the influx of young talent and the diverse personalities they bring to the grid. “The young drivers? There are many and what I like is that each one has his own personality,” he added. “We are in a fortunate phase, the drivers are not a problem. The lifeblood of young people is fundamental for us, what F1 must do is to get out of its self-referentiality. I want to see different faces and professionalism.”
This new era in F1 promises to be thrilling as veteran talent and young drivers collide on the track.
The leader of wins in the 2024 Cup Series season achieved his feats without much noise. Kyle Larson currently owns 6 race victories, double the stats held by Cup rivals closest to his heels. Despite numerous instances of on-track scuffles in Cup this year – from the Stenhouse-Busch fistfight to Hocevar spinning Burton – you would not find Kyle Larson on that list. And that is what earned him the respect of a veteran who used to be NASCAR’s Ironman.
Ricky Rudd, a NASCAR Hall of Famer, was a golden phenomenon in his time. The 23-time Cup Series winner was known for his tremendous grit and iron capacity to continue driving even amidst extreme health risks. So recognition from this former HMS driver is no mean feat – but we are talking about Kyle Larson the overachiever.
Making his Cup debut in 1975 at Rockingham Speedway, 18-year-old Ricky Rudd soon developed his signature style of racing. Among his competitors, Rudd earned a name for being a formidable racer. Although he was a clean racer, he taught rivals who messed with him a lesson, as they fell on the wrong side of his bumper. The scrappy driver, the 1997 Brickyard 400 winner, received a fitting nickname for his on-track personality – “Rooster.” His rowdiness was experienced firsthand by veterans like Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, and Dale Earnhardt.
But even the “Rooster” tipped his hat to Kyle Larson’s indomitable calmness of spirit. In a recent interview, the NASCAR Hall of Famer detailed his mindset when he went to race. He did not snuggle with his rivals so much: “You gotta dig down deep when you kind of go out against the competition. Especially when these guys are the best, you know, the best there is…These guys on the racetrack, they were my enemy. I didn’t treat them unkindly, but those were the guys that I purposely wasn’t super close friends with any of them…We were, you know, friends, but just more acquaintances than it was friendship.
Yet Rudd chose to salute Kyle Larson‘s starkly opposite attitude on the racetrack. The Charlotte Roval race winner rarely harbors ill will towards his rivals, and that is what sets his unique driving style, as Rudd said. “I don’t think everybody’s programmed that way. Some guys win and they find a different way to do it. You look at Kyle Larson today. I don’t think he gets mad at anybody, you know. I don’t think he could get mad. But he wins. He’s a heck of a driver and he wins races. Everybody’s got their own way of competing and doing what you have to do to be competitive.” Larson tied Rudd on the wins list when he clinched his 23rd career win last year in Las Vegas.
